Human Rights Watch Urges U.S., E.U. to Press Algeria on Massacres Inquiry

(01/09/98) -- In a Brussels press conference this morning, Human Rights Watch called on Washington and European states to insist that Algeria cooperate with international efforts to ascertain responsibility for massacres of civilians and to recommend steps to prevent their recurrence. "The Algerian authorities have failed to initiate or allow any impartial investigation of the massacres and of the government's failure to protect its citizens," said Kenneth Roth, the group's executive director in New York. "The scale and duration of the human rights crisis there makes a mockery of Algeria's insistence that it is strictly an internal matter."

The Algerian authorities have failed to initiate or allow any impartial investigation of the massacres and of the government's failure to protect its citizens. The scale and duration of the human rights crisis there makes a mockery of Algeria's insistence that it is strictly an internal matter. Kenneth Roth, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch

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The group called on Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to underscore U.S. concern with the situation when the State Department releases its annual human rights country reports later this month, and for the U.S. and European governments to co-sponsor a resolution at the upcoming U.N. Human Rights Commission meeting establishing the position of a Special Rapporteur for Algeria.  
 
The group welcomed the plans of European foreign ministers to visit Algeria, but cautioned that such a visit could not substitute for an internationally sponsored investigation of the atrocities. "The foreign ministers need to press the Algerian authorities to stop the atrocities, halt the gross abuses committed by security forces, and allow journalists and human rights workers to investigate," said Roth. "Most importantly, they need to avoid any appearance of supporting the government's refusal to cooperate with an international inquiry."  
 
A copy of the Brussels statement is available here.  
 
For additional information, contact:  
Joe Stork 202 371 6592 ext 118 (Washington)  
Jean-Paul Marthoz 32 2 736 7838 (Brussels)